NOLAN, James Joseph
(Service number 8/1589)
| First Rank | Private | Last Rank | Private |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 24 February 1882 | Place of Birth | Glasgow, Scotland |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | 11 January 1915 | Age | 34 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | Duntroon | ||
| Occupation | Labourer | ||
| Previous Military Experience | Kitchener's Light Horse, South Africa (2 years) | ||
| Marital Status | Single | ||
| Next of Kin | Mrs M.A. Nolan (aunt), Morven | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | 1st Battalion | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | Otago Rifles | ||
| Date | 14 February 1915 | ||
| Transport | Maunganui or Tahiti or Aparima | ||
| Embarked From | Wellington | Destination | Suez, Egypt |
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | |||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | Gallipoli | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Medals | British War Medal, Victory Medal, 1914-15 Star | ||
Award Circumstances and Date
No information
Prisoner of War Information
| Date of Capture | |
|---|---|
| Where Captured and by Whom | |
| Actions Prior to Capture | |
| PoW Serial Number | |
| PoW Camps | |
| Days Interned | |
| Liberation Date |
Death
| Date | 20 July 1936 | Age | 54 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Dunedin | ||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Anderson's Bay, Dunedin | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
James Joseph Nolan was born in Glasgow, Scotland on 24 February 1882 and fought in the Boer War with Kitchener’s Light Horse. By 1911 he was in New Zealand, working as a labourer on farms and for councils in North Otago.
James enlisted with 1st Battalion, Otago Rifles on 11 January 1915, his previous occupation being given as a labourer for the Oamaru Borough Council at Duntroon. His next of kin given was his aunt, Mrs M.A. Nolan of Morven. He was described as being 34 years old, 5ft 6in, 168lbs, with fair complexion, blue eyes, and brown hair, and a Roman Catholic. He embarked at Wellington on 14 February 1915 bound for Suez and Egypt. Nolan was landed at Gallipoli but was quickly found to be suffering from rheumatism and alcoholism. He was sent back to New Zealand in September 1914 and discharged as medically unfit for service.
After the war James featured in the Dunedin Courts twice in the 1920s as the result of drunken brawls. He died on 20 July 1936 and is buried at Anderson’s Bay Cemetery, Dunedin.
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph database [August 2021]; Papers Past at https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/ ; Dunedin City Council Cemeteries seacrh at https://www.dunedin.govt.nz/services/cemeteries/cemeteries-search
External Links
Related Documents
No documents available.
Researched and Written by
Carol Bell, SC branch NZSG
Currently Assigned to
Not assigned.
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.
Tell us more
Do you have information that could be added to this story? Or related images that you are happy to share? Submit them here!